Fireheart confides what he saw to Sandstorm. Sandstorm reminds Fireheart that Cloudpaw is young - but also informs him that Cloudpaw must make a choice. Fireheart confronts Cloudpaw, who insists he is doing nothing wrong. Cloupaw wants the best of both worlds and believes that the Warrior Code is about survival, not the clan, much to Fireheart's horror. Fireheart tells him he might not be able to stop him from accepting kittypet food, but he can prevent him from ever being a warrior.
Fireheart also discovers that Cinderpelt is hiding the sick ShadowClan cats and has actually discovered a cure for their sickness. As for Dustpelt, he and Fireheart both fight and don't fight, causing Fireheart to wonder what is going on with their relationship.
Meanwhile, he and Sandstorm go out to find Cloudpaw and discover him being kidnapped by Twolegs. Cloupaw calls out to them for help but there is nothing they can do as they watch the Twolegs drive away with Cloudpaw in their monster. Sandstorm tries to comfort Fireheart but he makes her angry when he says that Cloudpaw, being his only real kin, was closest to him.
Back at camp Ashpaw asks Fireheart where Cloudpaw is. Fireheart realizes that Ashpaw knows the truth about Cloudpaw's absences. He tells Ashpaw that Cloudpaw has gone back to his kittypet roots and Ashpaw is upset, insisting that Cloudpaw would never do that. Darkstripe spreads news of Cloudpaw's betrayal through the camp, even informing Bluestar who summons Fireheart. Fireheart told her he had only just found out the truth and was trying to solve to problem on his own. Bluestar tells him that they must respect Cloudpaw's choice, and tells him that if Cloudpaw wants to return to the clan he will find a way.
Fireheart dreams of Spottedleaf warning him of an enemy who "seems to sleep." Fireheart awakens and wonders if the dream is about the ShadowClan cats Cinderpelt is hiding. He wakes her up to tell her the cats must leave immediately. She tells him she will deal with it, but she also tells him to let Spottedleaf go and be with StarClan where she belongs. She also hints to Fireheart that Sandstorm is in love with him.
A drought comes making clan life difficult. And with Twoleg children in the forest it is hard to go to the stream for water. But the cats manage and one day Fireheart sees Graystripe there. As he starts taking to Graystripe about Bluestar and her failing mental health he realizes that he can no longer confide in his friend.
So, a few things. Fireheart's relationship with Dustpelt seems to be full of ups and downs. Dustpelt seems to hate him as a cat, but respect him as his deputy, which is odd. I know Dustpelt is ruled by the warrior code but Darkstripe just plain hates Fireheart - both as a cat and as a deputy. He, too, is loyal to the clan but to him that does not seem to extend to any loyalty to Fireheart. Meanwhile, Dustpelt seems to have feelings for Fernpaw that Fireheart is oblivious to. But seeing the interactions between Fireheart and Dustpelt I can't help but wonder if maybe they are starting to work towards patching things up.
Cloudpaw getting catnapped was upsetting but not overly shocking. Hopefully he makes his way back to the clan and learns to fully respect their way of life. And Sandstorm's reaction to what Fireheart said was both understandable and not. Fireheart does struggle with acceptance from the clan. It is largely over but that doesn't mean it was never there. But, he should not have said that to her since it is pretty obvious that Sandstorm is in love with him - though how he doesn't see it I have no clue.
As for the enemy Spottedleaf warns him about, my money is on Tigerclaw, not ShadowClan.
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